Volume 28, Issue 2

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The winter is upon us and now is the time to turn inward, to take inventory of all the resources we have accumulated that will sustain us through darker times. With this in mind, we welcome the fine articles of this issue. Radovan Hrubý and Peter G. Fedor-Freybergh from Saint Elizabeth College of Health and Social Work in Bratislanva offer a detailed outline of recent research that continues to demonstrate how crucial the prenatal period is to the rest of a human life. Their paper, “Prenatal and Perinatal Medicine and Psychology Towards Integrated Neurosciences: General Remarks and Future Perspectives,” covers the field by exploring behavioral embryology, genetic and epigenetic aspects of neural development, prenatal psychoimmuno-neuroendocrinology, and prenatal and postnatal bonding. This issue also presents the final installment of Karlton Terry’s excellent essay, “Implantation Journey: The Original Human Myth.” Terry follows the journey of the blastocyst through uterine exploration and implantation. By tracking this journey from a mythological perspective, Terry gains insight into how our earliest experiences – just days or weeks after fertilization – may influence our later patterns of relating, loving, and being. Sensing the origins of our humanness even at this early time, Terry asks the question, “When does a human being become a human being? At conception? At implantation? At birth?” Associate Editor Kerry Cerelli interviews John Chitty on his work with babies. Chitty is a biodynamic craniosacral therapist, polarity therapist and psychotherapist who operates the Colorado School of Energy Studies in Boulder, Colorado. In this interview, Chitty describes his effective approach for working with babies to address issues related to a challenging birth and difficult dynamics often present in the new family system. David Chamberlain’s book, Windows to the Womb is reviewed by book review editor Patricia Lucas. With eloquent prose, Lucas tells the story of discovering and specializing in pre and perinatal psychology after discovering Chamberlain’s first book, Babies Remember Birth (now re-titled The Mind of your Newborn Baby), and this latest book reminds her and us once again of the importance of this field. She highlights the intelligence of the prenate and the vast and confusing history of beliefs about conception and more as described by Chamberlain. We are grateful for the thoroughness of this descriptive review of a very important new book. Ray Castellino provides a review for John Chitty’s new book, Dancing with Yin and Yang. The book discusses the counseling aspects of polarity therapy that have been largely ignored in other writing on the topic. He describes in detail the two-chair method which can be effectively used in many situations to create fluidity and flexibility where fixation has occurred. Chitty’s experience with Dr. Stone’s polarity therapy in particular is highlighted, and the steps for practitioners to follow for self-care and applicable skills. Finally, Patricia Lucas reviews Dr. Annie Brook’s book, How Birth Influences Behavior. She finds Brook’s writing to be a comprehensive and essential contribution to the field of prenatal and perinatal psychology. This “pioneering manual” for the field covers theory, skills, and treatment related to the primal period and gently guides readers through the process of identifying issues related to their prenatal and perinatal development. This issue spans the spectrum of prenatal and perinatal psychology and health by weaving understanding gained from research, clinical application, and mythological perspective. Truly, our field is benefiting from the accumulation of all this curiosity and excitement in investigating how our early beginnings affect who we become. We hope you take in the resources presented in this issue in a way that sustains your continued interest for the field of prenatal and perinatal psychology and health. As always, we welcome our readers’ responses and comments. Kate White, MA Kerry Cerelli, MA Associate Editors Correction In our interview of midwife Mary Jackson in the Fall 2013 issue of the Journal of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health (Volume 28, Number 1), we quoted Jackson as saying,” I started out as a lay midwife in California and at that time there was no law about midwifery. It was an illegal state, so I learned through apprenticeship and self-study and workshops and apprenticed with a variety of people.” In fact, Jackson had stated that California was an alegal, not illegal, state at that time. We sincerely apologize to both Mary Jackson and our readers for this misquote and for any confusion our error has caused. For more information on the history of midwifery in California, we direct you to Julie Harmon’s 2001 article, “Statutory Regulations of Midwives: A Study of California Law,” as published in Volume 8, Issue 1 of William & Mary Journal of Women and the Law as well as to “Contemporary History of the Relationship Between California Midwives, the LMPA, the Medical Board and the Bowland Decision” by Faith Gibson, LM, CPM, taken from expert testimony provided on March 29, 2006.

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